See also

All of B.C.’s schools need to be welcoming and safe places free of bullying,” says Minister of Education Mike Bernier in a statement. “We owe it to our children to make sure they know that there are no reasons they should be bullied – and including sexual orientation and gender identity in anti-bullying policies makes that crystal clear.”

Around 5% of BC’s student population identifies as LGBTQ.

Bernier stresses that many schools in BC independently already put policies in place to specifically protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students before it was required.

All schools and districts have until the end of the year to update their policies.